Automatic railroad-switch.



No. 669,758. Patented Mar. :2, 19m.

, P.--F.'MEEN AN. r

AUTOMATIIC RAILROAD swncu.

(A fi LtioA filed Jan. 3, 1901';

1 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

NlTED FFICE.

PETER F. MEENAN, OF RIDGWAY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TO J. HARRY ELLINGER, OF SAME PLACE.

AUTOMATIC RAILROAD-SWITCH.

SIREQIZFPIGAH'JION forming part of Letters Patent No. 669,758, dated March 12, 1901. Application filed January 3,1901. Serial No. 41,991. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, PETER F. MEENAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ridgway, in the county of Elk and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Railroad- Switches; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to switches designed chiefly for street-railways, although applicable wherever rolling-stock is to be shifted from one track to another, the throwing of the switch being effected from the car, thereby dispensing with the services of an attendant at the switch.

The object of the invention is to devise a simple, compact, and easily-operable means connected with the switch-point and located upon the car to enable the motorman to throw the switch without necessitating the stopping of the car.

For a full description of the invention and the merits thereof and also to acquire a knowl edge of the details of construction of the means for effecting the result reference is to be had to the following description and drawings hereto attached.

While the essential and characteristic features of the invention are necessarily susceptible of modification, still the preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a detail view,in longitudinal section, showing the position of the parts when about to operate the switch. Fig. 2 is a detail perspective view of the end portion of a car, showing the mechanism carried thereby for operating the switch. Fig. 3 is a detail view in perspective of the slot-plate. Fig. dis a plan view ofa switch and actuating mechanism therefor constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 5 is a detail perspective view of the base-plate, slot-bar, and starwheel. Fig. 6 is a detail section, about on the line X Xof Fig. 4, showing the parts on a larger scale. Figs. 7 and 8 are detail views showing diiferent positions of the crank, ac cording to the location of the switch-point.

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail similar to Fig. 6, showing a modification. Fig. 10 is a detail view of the star-wheel and shaft separated and disassociated from the slot and base plates.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the same reference characters.

The switch 1 is of ordinary construction, and the switch-point 2 is pivoted and arranged for operation in the well-known manner. A star-wheel 3 is located midway between cooperating rails and in proximal relation to the switch-point 2, and connections are interposed between said star-wheel and switch-point for actuation of the latter from the car at the will of the motorman. This star-wheel is located below the surface of the road-bed and is mounted upon a vertical shaft 4, journaled in the base-plate 5 and slot-bar 6, located in different horizontal planes. A crank 7 is provided at the lower end of the shaft 4 and is connected with the switch-point 2 by means of a rod 8, lever 9, and link 10, or in any desired way. The rod 8 is composed of telescopic sections connected by means of a spring 11, which provides a yielding connection between the parts, so as to obviate injury to the switch-operating mechanism in the event of the point 2 being obstructed or failing to move readily when the star-wheel 3is operated. The star-wheel comprises four members having a right-angular disposition, with their outer end portions slightly widened and made rounding. The arms or members of the star-wheel correspond in transverse extent at their widened part to the width of the slot-bar 6. These proportions have been found necessary in the practicalizing of the invention, so as to impart to the switch-point a like throw whether one or the other of the diametrically-disposed arms or members of the star-wheel are struck by the trip attached to the car.

The slot-plate 12 is set into the road-bed so as come about flush therewith, and the slot 13, formed therein, is widened at its ends to facilitate the entrance into the slots of the operating-trip. Any means may be resorted to for anchoring or securing the slot-plate plate 12.

when in position. The base-plate 5 is secured to the slot-plate opposite the opening 13, and its end port-ions are deflected or offset, so as to come against the end portions of the plate 12, to which they are bolted or otherwise firmly attached. The middle portion of the base-plate is spaced from the slot-plate, so as to receive the star-wheel 3 and admit of the trip occupying a position so as to engage with an arm or member of the star-wheel, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 1. The slot-bar 6 has its end portions secured to the offset terminals of the base-plate and enters the opening 13, so as to lie wholly in the plane of the The edges of the slot-bar are inwardly curved toward their extremities corresponding to the outward curvature of the edges of the plate 12, bordering upon the end portions of the slot 13, whereby the slots formed between the edges of the slot-bar and the edges of the plate 12 adjacent the opening 13 flare at their ends, so as to facilitate the entrance thereinto of the trip attached to the car.

The trip mechanism applied to the car consists of a vertical shaft 14:, journaled centrally of the dash-board and provided at its lower end with a lateral arm 15 and at its upper end with an oifstanding handle 16, and a vertically-movable rod or bar 17, passing through a'cuff or sleeve 18 at the end of the arm 15, and a spring 19 for normally holding the trip out of action. The upper end of the rod or bar 17 passes through an arcuate slot 20 in the platform of the car and is headed at its upper extremity, as shown at 21, for the foot of the motor-man to obtain a bearing upon and likewise to provide a stop for the upper end of the retracting-spring 19. A washer or plate 22 is loosely mounted upon the upper part of the rod 17 and overlaps the walls of the slot 20 and forms a point of resistance for the lower end of the spring 19. The spring 19 exerts an upward pressure on the rod or bar 17, so as to hold it up out of the way, and when it is required to operate the switch the motorman presses upon the head 21, which compresses the spring 19 and projects the lower end of the trip-rod 17 into position to engage with one or the otherarm of the starwheel, according to the position of the handle 16. When pressure is removed from the head 21, the spring 19, regaining itself, lifts the rod up out of the way. The trip is positioned to enter the right or the left slot, so as to engage with one or the other of the lateral arms of the star-wheel by turning the handle 16 either to the right or to the left, said handle being held in the located position by entering one of the notches 23,formed in the curved portion 24 of an upright frame 25.

In some instances it is desirable to loosely mount the star-wheel upon the shaft 4:, and this necessitates some form of connection between the starwheel and shaft to cause movement thereof. As shown in Fig. 9, a collar 26 is formed with or applied to the shaft 4 and supports said shaft in the plate 5 and upholds the'star-wheel 3. A heavy'spring 27 is mounted upon the shaft L and is confined between the star-wheel and a nut 28, fitted to the upper threaded end of the said shaft. The upper portion of thenut 28is made square or otherwise constructed so as to receive a wrench or spanner, by means of which the nut may be turned to vary the tension of the spring 27 as may be desired. The slot-bar 6 is depressed so as to admit of the square portion of the nut 28 coming flush therewith. The body of the nut 28 is made round and obtains a bearing in the slot-bar 6, so as to turn with the shaft 4 when the star-wheel is operated. The friction between the starwheel and collar 26 is sufficient under normal conditions to cause the shaft 4 to turn when the star-wheel is operated, and the engaging surfaces may be roughened or serrated, if desired, to prevent slipping. In the event of the switch-point becoming choked, so as not to move freely when the star-wheel is struck, the latter will turn upon the shaft 4:, thereby preventing injury to the actuating mechanism and the trip device.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is 1. In a switch, actuating mechanism therefor comprising a vertical shaft, a star-wheel mounted upon said shaft, and ,a trip applied to the car and adapted to engage with one or the other of diametrically-disposed arms or members of the star-wheel to throw the switch in the desired direction, substantially as set forth.

2. In a switch and actuating mechanism therefor, comprising a vertical shaft and a star-wheel mounted thereon, a slot-plate, a base-plate having its end portions upwardly deflected and secured to the slot-plate, and a slot-bar having its terminal portions attached to the deflected ends of the base-plate and having its middle portion spaced from the corresponding part of the said base-plate to form a space in which is located the star-wheel, said shaft being journaled in the slot-bar and base-plate, substantially as set forth.

3. In a switch, a slot-plate, a base-plate having its end portions oifset and secured to the slot-plate, a slot-bar having its terminals attached to the offset ends of the base-plate, a shaft journaled vertically in the slot-bar and base-plate, a star-wheel mounted upon said shaft and located in the space formed between the slot-bar and base-plate, and connections between said vertical shaft and the switchpoint, substantially as set forth.

4. In a switch, a slot-plate and a slot-bar disposed to provide right and left parallel slots, a star-wheel mounted to turn about a vertical axis and having its arms or members widened and made rounding at their outer ends, the maximum width of said arms corresponding to the transverse extent of the slot-bar, and connections between said starwheel and the switch-point to efiect a shifting of the latter when said-star-wheel is actions between said shaft and switch-point, IO Luated, substantially as set forth. substantially as specified.

5. In a switch, a vertically-arranged shaft In testimony whereof I aflix my signature having a collar, a star-wheel loosely mounted in presence of two Witnesses. u on the shaft and en gagin frietionall with 1 5 E11 6 said collar, a spring foi holding th star- PETER MEENAN wheel in frictional engagement with the said- Witnesses: collar to cause the star-wheel and shaft to JOHN G. VOLK, turn under normal conditions, and connec- A. B. ELLINGER. 

